Getty Images prepares to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Founded in Seattle in 1995 by Jonathan Klein and Mark Getty, what would eventually grow into the visual media platform Getty Images was at the front lines of moving the photo industry almost entirely online.
By rapidly acquiring various photo archives and agencies, Getty Images became the most accessible platform for the millions of media outlets and businesses that needed images to build their websites in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Today, the Getty library contains more than 477 million photo, video, and multimedia assets. Its network of over 600,000 photographers also enables it to provide live images of major sports, entertainment, and news events around the world.
Getty Images filing for bankruptcy and going private by the end of 2026
While reporting a revenue of $229.1 million in the second quarter of 2026, Getty Images is still preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and go private in a restructuring deal that will allow it to wipe more than $2.1 billion in debt from its balance sheet.
The deal, which has Koch Equity Development and members of the Getty family investing more than $533 million in equity in Getty Images, is projected to close before the end of 2026.
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The decision also comes after plans to merge with rival online photo platform Shutterstock in a $3.7 billion deal fell through over antitrust concerns and pressure from the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), 80 Level reported.
In past investor calls, Getty Images CEO Craig Peters referenced the rapid rise of artificial intelligence as causing “declining agency demand and disruption” to demand for its photos, FandomWire noted.
Getty’s annual subscribers also declined from 321,000 to 241,000 in 2025 as part of what CFO Jennifer Leyden classified as a “deliberate strategy to deemphasize lower-value acquisition channels, including the discontinuation of our iStock free trial program,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Shutterstock deal also caused Getty to lose “more than $100 million across professional fees and financing costs in pursuit of” a merger that ultimately did not go through, Peters said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
At the end of September 2026, Getty began the process of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange after its shares fell below the requisite $1.
“No anticipated impact across the network”: Getty on bankruptcy filing
The latest restructuring, Getty said in a statement, will allow the company to reset its balance sheet while refocusing its business to prioritize news photography and its archive galleries.
Despite large revenue in different quarters, high expenses led Getty to a total loss of $206.1 million in 2025.
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The company also said in the statement that it expects to continue to operate and provide stock photography as before with “no anticipated impact on content contributors, partners, customers, or employees across the Company’s worldwide network.”
The bankruptcy and restructuring proposal will still need to be approved by a court. According to Getty, the “requisite majority of creditors have committed to vote in favor of the Plan.”
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